As fighting continues in eastern DR Congo, the M23 rebel group has accused the government coalition of indiscriminate bombing of parts of North Kivu province. The M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said the government coalition, composed of militias, attacked the rebels’ positions on Sunday, November 19. “The coalition of Kinshasa government forces attacks our positions and indiscriminately bombards Kilorirwe, Karengera, Rukore and their surroundings,” Kanyuka said in a post on X. “The M23 continues to defend itself and protect the civilian population.” ALSO READ: Rwandan envoy condemns Kinshasa’s arming of militias The fighting happened after the M23 hosted a press conference on Saturday in which its president Bertrand Bisimwa said the group would protect communities threatened by militias like the genocidal FDLR as well as put in place necessary conditions to repatriate refugees. ALSO READ: ‘We want justice’: Stories of DR Congo’s ‘tired' refugees Over the last quarter century, hundreds of thousands of Congolese Tutsi have fled to neighbouring countries, such as Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. In Rwanda alone, there are at least 80,000 of Congolese refugees, most of them living in camps. Bisimwa said “there is no longer any shadow of doubt,” about “ethnic cleansing intentions of [President] Felix Tshisekedi and his coalition of evil forces.” He said there were acts of lynching, assassinations followed by cannibalism perpetrated against members of the Tutsi community, both civilian and military. ALSO READ: M23 warns of ‘imminent genocide’ in DR Congo The M23 says Congolese Tutsi communities continue to suffer persecution and hate speech at the hands of militias like the FDLR, Mai Mai Nyatura and newly formed youth groups known as Wazalendo, which have been integrated into the national army. Bisimwa accused the international community of remaining silent in the face of “acts of ethnic cleansing committed by the Kinshasa regime against its own population.” He said there had been targeted bombing of densely populated towns, including Bambo, Kibumba, Buhumba, Kirolirwe, Kabati, and vicious destruction of both public and private infrastructure, such as hospitals, schools, churches, power lines and drinking water tanks. Despite all that, Bisimwa said, “the M23 remains strongly convinced that the only way to bring lasting peace to eastern [DR Congo] is dialogue that addresses the root causes of conflicts.”
